Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Children's Centres: Coronavirus

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to allow soft play centres to reopen as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the findings of the sport and leisure sector task force were in relation to soft play and indoor play centres; and when those centres will be allowed to re-open as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timeframe is for the reopening of soft play centres as the covid-19 outbreak restrictions are eased.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made level of risk of covid-19 transmission of  the reopening of (a) indoor children soft play centres and (b) mobile play bus businesses; and what the timeframe is for the reopening of those businesses.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish bespoke covid-19 guidance for businesses providing activity classes for children under 5 years old.

Nigel Huddleston: On 13 August, the Government announced that indoor play and indoor soft play venues can open from 15 August. We have also been working with BALPPA, the trade body that represents the industry to develop guidance that lays out detailed measures that should be taken by indoor play and indoor soft play operators to make venues COVID-secure. These include closing ball pits and sensory areas, reducing capacity of venues and soft play frames, regular deep cleaning, pre-bookable timed sessions, increased sanitation, and a rigorous process to support track and trace. Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active and the Government is committed to reopening facilities as soon as it is safe to do so. Since 4 July other indoor facilities, including some indoor games, recreation and entertainment venues have reopened.As with all aspects of the Government’s response to COVID-19, we continue to be guided by public health considerations to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity safely.

Leisure: Children

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives from the children's indoor play sector on the steps that can be taken to enable indoor play centres in (a) Blackpool and (b) the UK to open up safely as soon as possible.

Nigel Huddleston: Officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have been in regular contact with the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA) over recent weeks. We have worked with BALPPA, the trade body that represents the industry (including those from Blackpool such as the Blackpool Pleasure Beach, UK Hospitality and other representatives of the indoor play sector) to develop guidance for indoor play and indoor soft play operators to make their venues COVID-secure. On 13 August, the Government announced that indoor play and indoor soft play venues can open from 15 August.

Department of Health and Social Care

Protective Clothing: Procurement

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of personal protective equipment public procurement contracts in the financial year 2019-20; and what proportion of those contracts were fulfilled.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 02 June 2020



The Department and NHS Supply Chain placed contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) totalling £129 million before 31 March 2020 to cover the additional requirement for PPE arising from COVID-19. Orders for £1.6 million were delivered before 31 March 2020, with the remainder not due for delivery until the 2020-21 financial year.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Questions 41119, 411120 and 41121 tabled by the hon Member for Midlothian on 28 April 2020.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 08 June 2020



I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Questions 41119, 41120 and 41121 on 3 August.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a substantive Answer to Named Day Question 49568 on Diabetes: Coronavirus and Named Day Question 49569 on Coronavirus: Screening that were tabled on 20 May 2020 and were due for Answer on 2 June 2020.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 22 June 2020



We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Rt hon. Member’s questions will be answered as soon as possible.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Questions (a) 41067, (b) 41068, (c) 41069 and (d) 41074, on Coronavirus, tabled on 28 April 2020 by the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 06 July 2020



I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave for Question 41067 on 13 July.We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.The hon. Member’s questions will be answered as soon as possible.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the limit on spending on branded health service medicines under the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access payments the NHS will receive in 2020.

Jo Churchill: The 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS) sets a limit of 2% per year on allowed growth in sales of branded medicines to the National Health Service for the duration of the scheme.The Department holds a six-monthly operational review of VPAS, which includes the other parties to the scheme; the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the devolved administrations. Our assessment is that the affordability mechanism within the scheme is operating effectively.Sales and payment information for VPAS are published on a quarterly basis. The most recent publication, for data up to Q1 2020, is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/voluntary-scheme-aggregate-net-sales-and-payment-information-may-2020This publication shows that in Q1 2020, payments of £150 million were made under the VPAS. The latest estimate of income for the whole of 2020 is £609 million, based on indicative sales growth to Q1 2020.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a substantive Answer to (a) Named Day Question 49568 on Diabetes: Coronavirus, (b) Named Day Question 49569 on Coronavirus: Screening tabled on 20 May 2020 and due for Answer on 2 June 2020 and (c) Named Day Question 59658 that was tabled on 16 June and was due for Answer on 22 June 2020 on the delay in answering Questions 49568 and 49569.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 20 July 2020



We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Rt hon. Member’s questions will be answered as soon as possible.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the availability of (a) radioligand therapy and (b) short shelf-life medicines after the end of the transition period.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 21 July 2020



The United Kingdom’s published approach sets out how we want to facilitate trade in medicinal products, including radioligand therapy and short shelf-life medicines, to support high levels of patient safety.We will continue to work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to help ensure patients can access the medicines they need, and that precautions are in place to reduce the likelihood of future shortages.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to provide a substantive answer to Question 60681.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 21 July 2020



I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 60681 on 5 August.

Cancer: Mental Health

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to include data collection on psychological and emotional wellbeing in future National Cancer Patient Experience surveys.

Jo Churchill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 June to Question 55912.